Why you may be seeing more e-bikes cruising around Saskatoon

SASKATOON -

E-bikes are becoming more popular in Saskatoon thanks to Ben Quattrini and his team at The Boutique, but the increased demand is also raising questions about safety and the rules surrounding e-bike use.

“We wanted to create kind of an experience in Saskatoon. We thought it was super appropriate with COVID and everything going on because it’s a safe activity, it’s fun. People love our riverbanks and it’s an opportunity to do something different that the city doesn’t offer,” Quattrini told CTV News.

The Boutique began renting out e-bikes, or “mopeds,“ as the business calls them, in the spring — and they’ve exploded in popularity ever since.

“We’ve rented to thousands of customers, lots of repeat customers. There’s been thousands of rides this spring and summer and people seem to be really enjoying it,” Quattrini said, adding that rentals tend to pick up in the evenings.

Josh Grimson hasn’t had the chance to ride one yet, but says he would like to.

“I think it’s kind of neat that it’s more accessible here and people can get around a little bit quicker.”

Some people in Saskatoon, however, are concerned about how safe e-bikes are.

“I personally think it’s an accident waiting to happen,” Tye Strachan said.

“Electric vehicles are great, but I think we maybe need the infrastructure to support them safely. Whether that’s different lanes to support them or just a better understanding of you do have to follow these rules when you’re on them.”

Dez Dzik said she likes the idea of e-bikes, but doesn’t think people use them responsibly.

“You can see them hitting jumps and doing crazy stuff,” she said.

As fun as they are to ride, Quattrini says they also come with a set of rules when you’re renting from the business.

Riders must be over the age of 14 and they have to wear a helmet and stay on the roadways, not sidewalks.

The mopeds only go up to 20 kilometres an hour, according to Quattrini.

“We haven’t had any safety-related incidents this year, so I feel like my team’s done a really solid job of keeping our customers safe and educating them when they come in as to where they can ride and how to stay safe,” he said.

“I would say if you can ride a bike, these are even easier because the tires are a little bigger and they’re lower to the ground.”

Quattrini says his business has been working with the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) to enforce the use of helmets and other rules of the road.

In a statement to CTV News, SPS said it has heard a few concerns about the use of e-scooters, but no tickets have been issued to date.

“We have reached out to the business to ensure adequate education around their use is occurring, including that of a helmet. We will continue to monitor, and provide a complaint-driven response to mitigate concerns,” the statement said.

Under the City of Saskatoon’s Bike Bylaw, e-bikes are not permitted on sidewalks, unless operated by someone under the age of 14. They are permitted on streets, bike lanes and shared pathways like any people-powered bicycle, and they are not permitted to go faster than 32 kilometres an hour.

Since e-bikes are so new to the city, Quattrini said his business has had to adjust the way it educates its customers.

“Of course, you know, there’s learning curves in terms of how we can better educate our customers and things like that, and we’ve changed our process throughout the summer to better do that with our customers.”

Quattrini and his team have been working with the cities of Saskatoon and Regina to bring e-scooters to the cities, similar to what larger cities like Edmonton and Calgary offer.

However, there is currently no framework for e-scooters. Since there is a framework for e-bikes, Quattrini decided to use that as a way to introduce people to shared micromobility.

“You can look at it environmentally; you can look at it as enjoyment. People can oftentimes get to where they need to go, whether it’s work, or to the grocery store, anything like that faster because they don’t need to worry about parking,” he said.

“I think with any larger urban centre, shared micromobility is kind of the way of the future. You go to Toronto, you go to Vancouver, you see these things everywhere and it’s just part of everyday life. So, as Saskatoon grows and as it evolves, I think we’ll see more of this and that’s kind of inevitable.”

Quattrini said The Boutique will continue offering moped rentals until late September or October as long as the weather permits and demand continues to stay high.

He said the plan is to bring them back next summer and expand to other Saskatchewan cities. 

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